ABS: Dwelling approvals fall in July

Recent figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that the number of dwellings approved in Australia fell by 1.3 per cent in July 2018 in trend terms.

“The fall was mainly driven by private dwellings excluding houses, which decreased by 1.8 per cent in July,” said Justin Lokhorst, Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS. “Private sector houses also fell, by 0.9 per cent.”

Among the states and territories, dwelling approvals fell in July in Victoria (4.3 per cent), New South Wales (2.2 per cent), South Australia (0.6 per cent) and Queensland (0.3 per cent) in trend terms.

Dwelling approvals rose in trend terms in the Australian Capital Territory (12.2 per cent), Tasmania (5.1 per cent), Northern Territory (4.5 per cent) and Western Australia (1.0 per cent).

In trend terms, approvals for private sector houses fell 0.9 per cent in July. Private sector house approvals fell in Victoria (2.4 per cent), South Australia (0.9 per cent), New South Wales (0.7 per cent) and Queensland (0.3 per cent) but rose in Western Australia (1.1 per cent).

In seasonally adjusted terms, total dwellings fell by 5.2 per cent in July, driven by a 6.6 per cent decrease in private dwellings excluding houses. Private houses fell 3.0 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms.

The value of total building approved fell 1.2 per cent in July, in trend terms, and has fallen for eight months. The value of residential building fell 1.8 per cent while non-residential building was flat.